Lautenberg had been struggling with health issues in early 2013 before his final battle with viral pneumonia. Lautenberg had made the decision on February 14, 2013, that he would not seek re-election in 2014 and would retire. When asked about the reasons for his retirement he said, "I am not announcing the end of anything. I am announcing the beginning of a two-year mission to pass new gun safety laws, protect children from toxic chemicals and create more opportunities for working families in New Jersey."[4]

Biography

Lautenberg was born in Paterson, New Jersey. He attended Nutley High School and served in the United States Army Signal Corps in World War II.
Financed by the GI Bill, he attended and graduated from Columbia Business School in 1949 with a degree in economics.[5] At the time of his death, he was the last remaining World War II veteran serving in the U.S. Senate.[2]

Career

He was the first salesman at successful Automatic Data Processing, Inc. (ADP) and eventually became its chairman and CEO.

Committee assignments

U.S. Senate

2013-2014

Lautenberg served on the following Senate committees until his death [6]:

Issues

Fiscal Cliff

Lautenberg did not cast a vote regarding the fiscal cliff compromise bill, which made permanent most of the Bush tax cuts originally passed in 2001 and 2003 while also raising tax rates on the highest income levels. The bill was passed in the Senate by a 89 - 8 vote on January 1, 2013.[8]

Elections

2014

On February 14, 2013, Lautenberg announced that he would not seek re-election in 2014 and would retire. When asked about the reasons for his retirement he said, "I am not announcing the end of anything. I am announcing the beginning of a two-year mission to pass new gun safety laws, protect children from toxic chemicals and create more opportunities for working families in New Jersey."[9] On June 3, 2013, just months after this announcement, Lautenberg passed away from viral pneumonia.[1]

Full history

To view the full congressional electoral history for Frank Lautenberg, click [show] to expand the section.

On November 5, 2002, Frank Lautenberg won election to the United States Senate. He defeated Douglas Forrester (R), Ted Glick (G), Elizabeth Macron (L), Norman Wahner (T) and Gregory Pason (T) in the general election.[11]

On November 8, 1988, Frank Lautenberg won re-election to the United States Senate. He defeated Peter Dawkins (R), Joseph Job (I), Jerry Zeldin (L) and Thomas Fiske (T) in the general election.[13]

U.S. Senate, New Jersey General Election, 1988

Party

Candidate

Vote %

Votes

Democratic

Frank Lautenbergincumbent

53.6%

1,599,905

Republican

Peter Dawkins

45.2%

1,349,937

Independent

Joseph Job

0.7%

20,091

Libertarian

Jerry Zeldin

0.4%

12,354

Socialist Workers

Thomas Fiske

0.2%

5,347

Total Votes

2,987,634

1982

On November 2, 1982, Frank Lautenberg won election to the United States Senate. He defeated Milicent Fenwick (R), Robert Bastien (T), Henry Koch (L), Julius Levin (T), Rose Zeidwerg Monyek (T), Claire Moriarty (T) and Martin Wendelken (I) in the general election.[14]

U.S. Senate, New Jersey General Election, 1982

Party

Candidate

Vote %

Votes

Democratic

Frank Lautenberg

50.9%

1,117,549

Republican

Milicent Fenwick

47.8%

1,047,626

Grass Roots

Robert Bastien

0.1%

2,955

Libertarian

Henry Koch

0.5%

9,934

Socialist Labor

Julius Levin

0.3%

5,580

Repeal Tf807

Rose Zeidwerg Monyek

0.1%

1,830

Socialist Workers

Claire Moriarty

0.2%

3,726

Independent

Martin Wendelken

0.2%

4,745

Total Votes

2,193,945

Campaign donors

Comprehensive donor information for Lautenberg is available dating back to 2002. Based on available campaign finance records, Lautenberg raised a total of $12,306,044 during that time period. This information was last updated on April 25, 2013.[15]

Frank Lautenberg's Campaign Contribution History

Year

Office

Result

Contributions

2008

U.S. Senate (New Jersey)

$9,192,874

2002

U.S. Senate (New Jersey)

$3,113,170

Grand Total Raised

$12,306,044

2008

Breakdown of the source of Lautenberg's campaign funds before the 2008 election.

Lautenberg was re-elected to the U.S. Senate in 2008. His campaign committee raised a total of $9,192,874 and spent $8,777,282.[16]

Analysis

Lifetime voting record

According to the website GovTrack, Lautenberg missed 322 of 9,563 roll call votes from February 1983 to April 2013. This amounts to 3.4%, which was worse than the median of 1.7% among current senators as of April 2013.[17]

Congressional staff salaries

The website Legistorm compiles staff salary information for members of Congress. Lautenberg paid his congressional staff a total of $3,053,743 in 2011. He ranked 9th on the list of the highest paid Democratic senatorial staff salaries and ranked 11th overall of the highest paid senatorial staff salaries in 2011. Overall, New Jersey ranks 7th in average salary for senatorial staff. The average U.S. Senate congressional staff was paid $2,529,141.70 in fiscal year 2011.[18]

Net worth

2011

Based on congressional financial disclosure forms and calculations made available by OpenSecrets.org, Lautenberg's net worth as of 2011 was estimated between $57,699,193 to $117,415,025. That averages to $87,557,109, which is higher than the average net worth of Democratic senators in 2011 of $20,795,450. His average net worth increased by 2.32% from 2010.[19]

2010

Based on congressional financial disclosure forms and calculations made available by OpenSecrets.org, Lautenberg's net worth as of 2010 was estimated between $55,073,211 and $116,071,021. That averages to $85,572,116, which is higher than the average net worth of Republican senators in 2010 of $19,383,524.[20]

National Journal vote ratings

2012

Each year National Journal publishes an analysis of how liberally or conservatively each member of Congress voted in the previous year. Lautenberg ranked 6th in the liberal rankings among members of the U.S. Senate.[21]

2011

Each year National Journal publishes an analysis of how liberally or conservatively each member of Congress voted in the previous year. Lautenberg ranked 14th in the liberal rankings among members of the U.S. Senate.[22]

Political positions

Voting with party

November 2011

Frank Lautenberg voted with the Democratic Party 93.5% of the time, which ranked 27th among the 51 Senate Democratic members as of November 2011.[23]

Personal

From his first marriage to Lois Lautenberg, which ended in divorce, Lautenberg had four children: Ellen, Nan, Lisa, and Joshua. In 2001, he married his companion of nearly 16 years, Bonnie S. Englebardt.

Recent news

This section displays the most recent stories in a Google news search for the term Frank + Lautenberg + New Jersey + Senate

All stories may not be relevant to this page due to the nature of the search engine.